(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
ACLU calls for independent probe after yet another deadly vehicle pursuit by Border Patrol [1]
['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-08-16
While El Paso Matters reported that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claimed “there was no pursuit involved,” the ACLU affiliates said “the local Sunland Park police have stated that the vehicle involved in the crash was fleeing Border Patrol at the time of the crash.” Two were killed when they were thrown from the car. The driver survived and rapidly faced charges, including 10 counts of great bodily injury by vehicle/reckless driving. The remaining survivors are Mexican nationals, some in border custody.
“This incident is extremely disturbing,” the civil right groups said. “It is part of a foreseeable and predictable pattern in which Border Patrol agents undertake dangerous vehicle pursuits in Southern New Mexico and West Texas that regularly result in fatal crashes. This puts not only the occupants of the vehicle at risk, but also poses great danger to the general public,” noting the crash was in a residential area.
“There have already been 17 deaths this year due to Border Patrol vehicle pursuits, while there were 23 last year—an 11-fold increase since 2019,” they continued. In one instance last year, officials did not bother to inform the mother of one man who ended up in a medically induced coma when his vehicle rolled over as a result of a Border Patrol pursuit. She had filed a missing persons report looking for her son. Commissioner Chris Magnus said in May that the agency would “soon” be releasing an updated policy pertaining to vehicle pursuits, but it’s unclear if this has even yet happened internally.
”Do you know what causes many rollovers of cars Border Patrol pursues on straight paved roads?” tweeted Jenn Budd, a former Senior Border Patrol agent turned whistleblower. “Illegal uses of the pit maneuver where agents bump the back corner of a car. Agents are trained in the field to pursue & make them crash and then lie about.”
The organizations ask whether the notorious Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs) will be involved in any investigation. While borderland advocates successfully pushed for the Biden administration to disband these cover-up units, which have for years work to shield abusive agents from accountability, it’s not effective until October. In recent days, these borderland advocates said they’ve learned of “alarming facts” that could affect lawmakers’ ongoing investigations into the shadow units, including that CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has been “hiring the very people that Congress is investigating, BPCITs.”
Sheff said in a statement that OPR “needs to conduct a fair and thorough investigation of this incident to make sure the people who died or were injured, as well as their families and the border community, receive the accountability they deserve.” She said it’s also imperative that survivors not be quickly deported under Stephen Miller’s debunked border policy, as potential witnesses in an investigation. Some could be eligible for certain relief.
“CBP OPR should publicly confirm an investigation and release their final investigative report on this incident, once it is available, and should state whether any agents have been referred for criminal or disciplinary action,” the civil rights groups conclude. “The families of those who died in this incident deserve no less.”
RELATED STORIES:
Disturbing New York Times' report shines light on Border Patrol's deadly car chases
Following push from advocates, CBP to disband cover-up units that shielded abusive border agents
Victims' families urge new look into Border Patrol abuses: 'They covered up what happened'
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/16/2116955/-ACLU-calls-for-independent-probe-after-yet-another-deadly-vehicle-pursuit-by-Border-Patrol
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
